These Central NJ seafood restaurants make meatless days during Lent delicious

While not all practicing Catholics give up indulgences during Lent, many choose to abstain from meat on Fridays during the 40-day period that leads to Easter Sunday.

Luckily, good seafood can be found everywhere in Central Jersey. Our region may be a ways away from the Jersey Shore, but you can find plates of fresh salmon, sea bass, halibut, cod and more at many restaurants.

Here are some places to go in Hunterdon, Middlesex, Somerset and Union counties.

The Barge, Perth Amboy

For nearly a century, the Barge has been a Perth Amboy waterfront staple, with floor-to-ceiling windows for patrons to overlook the Raritan Bay while dining from a large menu of seafood dishes.

Despite its grandiose views, the Barge is a casual, family-friendly spot, said owner Alex Vosinas, who bought the place about 40 years ago.

“We specialize in the freshest seafood, so on Fridays during Lent, we are about 40% busier than on normal Fridays,” Vosinas said.

Surrounded by nautical décor, customers often go for dishes such as broiled live Maine lobster stuffed with shrimp, scallops and crabmeat; shrimp scampi; a fried seafood combination of shrimp, scallops and flounder; and seafood kebabs.

Go: 201 Front St., Perth Amboy; 732-442-3000, thebarge.com.

Cuzin's Seafood & Clam Bar, New Brunswick

Everyone is a cousin at Cuzin’s Seafood & Clam Bar.

Customers are treated like cousins, said general manager Christian Mayo, as several managers are always working throughout the restaurant and owner Charles Mayo is ever-present. The year-old restaurant follows the success of the first Cuzin’s Seafood & Clam Bar location in Marlboro.

“My dad wanted to build a restaurant where people could make the craziest requests and we would always do our best to accommodate and create a relationship with them,” Christian said.

Even the seafood wholesale company that supplies Cuzin’s is a cousin.

“Every piece of seafood comes from our cousin Gary, who has his own company, and has worked for 30 years going on the boats catching fish each day. As cousins, we get first picks of those fish, and we get fresh shipments every day.”

Some of the dishes that result from those catches include halibut with Parmigiana polenta, spinach, crispy shallots and lemon butter sauce; the crispy or broiled seafood combo; homemade lobster ravioli; and seafood paella. A menu of at least three or four seafood specials changes weekly.

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It’s all served in a colossal space that has a “New York City meets suburban vibe,” described Christian, with blue tones, rustic details, dim lighting and a nautical theme — including a hallway encapsulated with wood and portholes to feel like a ship.

It’s mixed with tech-savvy adds like an LED screen that plays a clear image of a waterfall that “splashes” onto the bar below.

Go: 78 Albany St., New Brunswick; 732-979-2141, cuzinsclambar.com.

Boulevard Seafood Company, Somerville

At seven-year-old Boulevard Seafood Company, a name that reflects chef and owner Scott Snyder’s former seafood wholesale company, everything is directly from the seafood market and is less than one-day-old. And, you can see it all from the six-seat chef’s table overlooking the kitchen.

“The only thing you can’t see is the dishwasher,” Snyder said. “People want to watch the guys cook in the back, and they want to talk to the guy opening the oysters in front of them.”

Snyder used reclaimed wood from a barn in New York, as well as maple boards from the bakery once in the space to furnish the restaurant, lit by 90-year-old refurbished industrial lights overhead.

Here, customers dine on fresh calamari that’s cleaned in-house; jumbo lump crab and avocado cannelloni; bread and pastries baked by Snyder; and an ever-changing seafood menu. Right now, dishes include Belgian beer steamed Prince Edward Island mussels; seafood risotto; and grilled ancho chili Faroe Island salmon.

On Fridays all year, Boulevard Seafood also offers a three-course all-lobster tasting dinner for $65 that includes dishes such as lobster salad, lobster ravioli and lobster risotto.

Go: 49 W. Main St., Somerville; 908-722-3300, boulevardseafood.com.

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Marinos Italian Seafood Restaurant, Berkeley Heights

The Marino family is no stranger to seafood. For over 100 years, they’ve operated everything from seafood shops to restaurants. Just over a year ago, they opened their newest endeavor: Marinos Italian Seafood Restaurant, owned by former Marino’s Fine Foods owner Michael Marino.

Eighty percent of the restaurant’s evolving menu is seafood, and it all has one thing in common: “Whatever’s fresh in the market that day, that’s what we feature," Marino said. “ ... We’re seafood people.”

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Specials, which change daily, include grouper with caramelized onions in a spicy chili sauce; scungilli fra diablo over linguine; swordfish livornese; and halibut oreganata over broccoli rabe and cannellini beans.

Lent Fridays at the elegant 150-seat eatery are only slightly busier these days than other Fridays, Marino said.

“It’s not like it used to be,” he said. “Years ago, Catholics didn’t eat meat on Wednesdays and Fridays during Lent. The old timers still follow tradition, but the younger people, not so much.”

Go: 408 Springfield Ave, Berkeley Heights; 973-258-9009, marinosrestaurantnj.com.

Contact: JIntersimone@MyCentralJersey.com

Jenna Intersimone has been a staff member at the USA TODAY NETWORK New Jersey since 2014, after becoming a blogger-turned-reporter following the creation of her award-winning travel blog. To get unlimited access to her stories about food, drink and fun, please subscribe or activate your digital account today.

This article originally appeared on MyCentralJersey.com: Lent: Central New Jersey restaurants to visit